Shards of Hope

Chapter 33

EDWARD HAD DONE him a favor in committing suicide and sucking up Aden’s attention, Blake thought as he skimmed another news article about his kill. It was a small mention, already gone from the headlines. That wouldn’t last. He’d give them a second body, but not yet. Right now, his attention was on a different project.

He’d confirmed his choice of partner: Beatrice Gault, the teenager with the illusion gift paired with strong telepathy. Her specialization was an inbuilt ability to smash shields. She’d been signed over to the Arrow squad at age three, after she smashed her father’s shields, causing brain damage so severe it had left him with a permanently paralyzed left side.

The experience had traumatized her, according to the PsyMed report he’d accessed, and she’d been a docile trainee from the start. It was noted in her training files that while she was an excellent soldier who would always follow orders, she did not do well on solo tasks.

Not suitable for command, had been the final determination.

In other words, she was a beautifully submissive personality, he thought, running his finger over her image.

Of average height, she had pale white skin over a fine-boned frame and eyes of brown. Her light brown hair she kept cropped tight to her skull. It gave her an appearance of waiflike youth. That could be very useful in gaining the trust of his targets.

She also had no special commendations on her file, no extra notes from instructors at all. Every other possibility he’d considered had at least one. Someone had taken notice of a special ability or an exemplary skill, or a negative aspect.

No one noticed Beatrice.

She did what she was supposed to do, she followed the rules, and when she went to bed, no one thought about her. He had run an experiment, casually mentioning Beatrice to two Arrows he knew had helped with her training. He’d said it was part of an evaluation to see if she was suitable for a live mission. Neither trainer had remembered her until he’d shown them her photo and file.

Even after that, they’d simply referred to their notes.

Beatrice was invisible. Her family had cut her off, and while the squad had taken her in, she was simply one cog in a machine. Having watched her, he knew she spent no extra time with any of her fellow trainees, had no one who might be considered a confidant or a friend.

He would become that person for her. It wouldn’t take long. He’d studied psychology in an academic way in order to classify himself, so he knew she was a dependent personality who hadn’t yet found a dominant to whom to give her absolute trust.

Aden didn’t know about her. No one knew about her. She was perfect.